The Master of Nature

An Unexpected Reunion

Fortunately, Wu and Misako managed to jump back onto the ship, much to the team's relief. Most of the residents of Ninjago City now knew of Alyssa's parents' cruel treatment of Hope and looked at them with disgust.

The Stone Army seemed to have vanished. Zane tried sending out his falcon to a mysterious island that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, but it seemed like a bad idea later on.

"Oh, it's worse than I feared," said Nya. 'The rotors on the starboard booster are completely destroyed. The port boosters are shot from the strain. Oh, sorry guys. She's not getting airborne anytime soon."

"So if the Stone Army attacks again, we're sitting ducks," said Cole.

"Uh, ducks can fly, Cole. Weren't you listening?" asked Jay.

"We just got our tails handed to us and we couldn't even stop one of them. Ugh, I hate feeling helpless," moaned Kai.

"We mustn't give up hope, Kai," said Wu.

"Did you call me, Sensei?" asked Hope.

"Not you, Hope," said Kai.

"But the Stone Army is indestructible. You saw it. At best, all my powers could do was slow them down," pointed out Lloyd.

But then Misako told the ninja about a Temple of Light in the Dark Island, which could help them restore their elemental powers. Nya got worried because the ship could no longer fly.

"It's a ship, right? Can't it sail?" asked Misako.

"Silly question. Of course it can. Haha, right?" joked Jay.

Later that day, the ninja were saying goodbye to the residents of Ninjago City. Jay's mother kept reminding him to eat his vegetables, the Royal Blacksmiths sang a song to Cole, and Kai told Dareth that he was in charge. The self-proclaimed brown ninja asked what his elemental power was.

"Uh, hot air?" suggested Nya.

"So I command the wind. Cool," said Dareth.

Hope wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she noticed that Wu seemed uncomfortable with Dareth's words.

"Hope!" called Alyssa. She ran to the Bounty carrying an overnight bag. "I'm coming with you!"

Hope stared at Alyssa. "Are you nuts? This might be dangerous."

"Hope, you have no idea how maddening it is to hear all about your exciting adventures. I just want to be part of one of them."

Secretly, Hope was relieved that Alyssa was insisting on coming along. But she was still worried for her safety.

"It could be dangerous."

"Like I care about that. Please let me come."

Hope sighed. "I guess you can come."

Hope looked over at Zane, who looked sad. Wu was comforting him.

Later, as the team and Alyssa set off, Edna asked Jay if he had remembered to pack clean underwear. Jay had never looked so embarrassed before.

"I wonder what's on the island?" wondered Kai.

Zane suggested a new ecosystem, Cole suggested never before seen creatures, and Jay suggested vegetables that taste like dessert.

Soon, Zane announced that the falcon had arrived at the Dark Island. Unfortunately, a Stone Warrior shot down the falcon. If that wasn't bad enough, a storm was starting.

"Of course there has to be a storm the day we are at sea!" grumbled Hope.

Alyssa looked a little green. "I guess that I should have told you that I get seasick."

"Why did you want to come on an adventure that includes sailing?" asked Kai.

"Because I wanted to spend time with my sister!" said Alyssa. "Can you imagine being separated from your sister all the time?"

"Hold the line!" called Cole, but it was no use.

" I don't wanna get wet. I...I only have one pair of underwear," said Jay.

Hope wanted to bang her head on the mast. I'm surrounded by idiots, she thought to herself.

Suddenly, what looked like several starfish latched onto the Bounty. Misako said that they were Starteeth. "We must not let the Starteeth on board. They devour ships and won't stop until we sink!"

Cole got bitten by one and shrieked. Jay even got wet despite his best efforts not to.

Kai shrieked, "Aargh. I'm starstruck! Unh, good riddance, water vampires!"

"Are you seriously making jokes right now" asked Alyssa between throwing up at the side of the ship.

The ninja tried using Spinjitzu to throw the Starteeth off, but their efforts were in vain.

"They eat through metal too?" asked Jay after seeing a Starteeth eat through a chain. "Oh, I should have brought an extra pair of underwear."

~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~🌷~

Everyone had to spend all that night and the next morning scooping water out of the ship. But then Zane suddenly dropped his bucket.

"Is he..." started Alyssa.

"He's not autistic," said Hope. "He's a nindroid, remember?"

"Oh," said Alyssa.

Suddenly the ship crashed onto a small island with a lighthouse. "Who would build a lighthouse way out here?" asked Lloyd.

"It's not a lighthouse. It's a prison," said Zane.

The team decided to check it out. There was a camera attached to the lighthouse, so Jay wondered if they should smile.

Suddenly, an old man wearing glasses opened the door. "Zane! Is it really you? You found me!"

Zane looked extremely shocked. If he could breathe, he would have been breathless.

"Uh, do you know him?" asked Lloyd.

"Of course I know him! I built him, for heaven's sake!" said the old man.

"But my memory tells me that you have passed," said Zane.

"Ah, you found your memory switch. Hurry, it can't know that you're here, or else there'll be dues to pay."

Although Jay was worried about what 'it' was, everyone went into the lighthouse.

The man, whose name is Dr Julian, locked up the door and then used a lever to make a table appear.

A small robot called Tai-D appeared to serve tea to everyone. Jay tried fooling around, but he ended up getting tea all over his lap and he jumped around screaming.

Everyone found this funny except for Zane. He questioned why Dr Julian was alive.

"After I turned off your memory switch, what you didn't see is bonehead Samukai reviving me with a special elixir. He wanted me to create state-of-the-art war machines for their army. He said if I did, then I would be able to see my son again. And to make sure I didn't escape, he chained a Leviathan to keep guard."

"A Leviathan?" asked Lloyd.

"Yes. When Samukai didn't return, I thought I would never see you again. But as so much time has passed I started to question if you would ever want to see me again. I was afraid if you found out what horrible things I've created, you would think I was a...a monster."

"We will get you out of here, Father. Now that we are together, perhaps we can invent a way off this rock," said Zane.

Dr Julian said that he could repair the boosters, but then he said, "Oh, I'm not the only prisoner here. You see..."

Unfortunately, the Leviathan started to growl, so everyone except Dr Julian had to hide.

Alyssa suddenly noticed a trapdoor and opened it. "Hope, over here."

The two sisters went underneath and shut the door.